Optus And Huawei Are Trialing 4.5G

On 17 February Optus and Huawei conducted a live trial of 4.5G technology at Optus’ Gigasite in Newcastle. The trial resulted in download speeds of 1.41 Gbps, with "theoretical maximum speeds reaching 1.43Gbps," Optus has announced in a statement.

"The combination of Carrier Aggregation, Higher Level Modulation, and 4X4 MIMO achieved a peak download speed of 1.23Gbps over the air in live network conditions," the statement reads.

Dennis Wong, Optus Networks acting Managing Director said "We continue to utilise our network and spectrum assets to test our network of the future and prepare for 5G. By 2020, 5G will be here and we are committed to identify ways to prepare our network to support this new technology and further improve customer experience."

Optus and Huawei have been collaborating on research since the first Gigasite opened in 2013.

"This field trial in Newcastle is a first and important milestone as a direct result of our local investments in R&D here in Australia. This joint trial represents a significant advance toward fulfilling Huawei's and Optus' commitment to developing 4.5G technology in Australia," James Zhao, Huawei Australia CEO said.

David Wang, President Huawei Wireless Networks said "4.5G and related technologies are the future of our increasingly digitalized world. Huawei together with Optus will strive to foster an open and a better connected Australia."

The continued work on 4.5G, evolving towards 5G technology leverages on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on joint research and development that parent telco Singtel signed with Huawei in 2014.

"5G will provide the infrastructure to support a networked society for a multitude of devices and applications," Optus states. "Apart from advanced wireless techniques, another key aspect is machine type communications to support the Internet of Things."

Tay Soo Meng, Singtel Group Chief Technology Officer said, "As we work towards 5G we expect significant demand for cost-effective connection to a multitude of sensors and devices, and it is important that operators deliver new capabilities to enable the new connected ecosystem to support the growth and innovation of M2M services.

Singtel continues to pursue leading technologies and is in close collaboration with industry players like Huawei as part of our 5G partnership programs."